Sunday, September 28, 2014

Londyn Grace turns two this Friday! Her second year went so much faster than her first! I'm scared to see how quickly time will fly this year!

We celebrated with our sweet family and some friends from church yesterday. It was a much smaller party than last year's bash, but still wonderful. Things are so busy here with church and Daniel has visitation on Saturday mornings so we decided it was best to have the party at home instead of traveling back to Maryland like we did last year. It was hard not to have all of our extended family here, but most of them couldn't make the trip to Jersey, but most of Londyn Grace's grandparents and aunts and uncles along with her baby cousin came so she was thrilled!

Pop Pop, Mimi and Mom Mom arrived Thursday morning and helped us with the party preparations! It was so good to see them! It had been a month since their last visit!

I had been planning to go with a pumpkin/fall theme, but a few weeks ago while rocking LG and reading books, I had a lightbulb moment! Currently one of her favorite books is a vintage book called Splish, Splash and Splush. It's the cutest story about three little ducklings who don't want to be ducks because they're afraid of the water! We had so much fun going to feed the ducks this summer so I knew a ducky/farm theme was the perfect choice!

I felt so behind with planning this year, but thanks to my parents' and my grandmother's help everything came together wonderfully! Auntie M and Uncle Johnny took LG shopping to pick out a few presents while we got ready for the party on Saturday morning.

I found a smocked duckling dress on eBay that was perfect for the theme!

Last year she was too small to really understand what was going on, but seeing her so happy about every little detail this year made this mama's heart so happy!

Pop Pop painted the pink highchair from last year's party yellow and we hung an old quilt behind it.

A few hay bales and sweet little vintage duckling figurines I found on Etsy tied things together!

I wanted to display some of her pictures from the past year so I ordered some Instagram prints from Walgreens and clipped them to bakers twine strung across an old pallet. Vintage milk bottles filled sunflowers and yummy fresh baked pies compliments of my Mom Mom completed the display!

An old kitchen scale, chicken feeder and adorable egg cartons brought elements of the farm theme to the food table. We served three different kinds of soup (or pous! as Goosey calls it!) since its one of her favorite foods and had chips and crackers to go along with it. Guests enjoyed the apple and cherry pies for dessert along with cookies and vanilla ice cream.

This wreath greeted our guests!

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I recreated the chalkboard from last year with her updated stats!

Londyn Grace had her very own cake covered in "meenles!" She was so excited about it!

After everyone ate, it was time to sing Happy Birthday to our soon to be two year old!

I thought she'd eat it up since she's been obsessed with the song for months, but she wasn't quite sure what to think when we started singing to her!

It took her a few tries, but she blew out her candles all by herself! After a little coaching from Uncle Johnny, she went face first into the icing!

After we cleaned her up, she was ready to open presents!

She got lots of books, a few outfits, pajamas and a few new toys to play with! When we would tell her that a present was from such and such she would take the gift to that person thinking we meant it was for them! Whenever a card had money in it, she would hand it right to me because she knows she's not supposed to play with the money in my wallet!

She had so much fun at her "Happy to You Party" and is so excited about turning "two in (a few) days!"

It took her until close to eleven o'clock last night to go to sleep! I think she had way too much cake and ice cream!

She keeps talking about her friends and all of the people who came to celebrate!

We tried to get a picture of the cousins with Grammy and Grandpap, but the girls were too busy wanting to play in the ball pit!

This was the best one we got!

I hate that I didn't get more pictures of her with all of our guests, but it was hard to host and take pictures, too!

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

30 days with you, sweet boy, and what a joy you have been to our family!

It's sounds cliche, but we truly can't imagine life without you here now that you've been with us for four weeks!

You are tipping the scales at 7 pounds 2 ounces and measuring 21 inches long.

There has been some debate over how long you really were at birth since Daddy watched the nurse hastily measure you at 20.5 and then Dr. Schlacter measured you at 19. We are pretty sure the hospital's number wasn't quite accurate so you've grown 2 inches this month!

Even though you are still have room to grow in newborn clothes, newborn sleepers are almost too small because you don't have the space you need to stretch out your long legs! We are having trouble finding pants that fit your tiny waist, but newborn onesies and shirts fit pretty well!

You are doing great with nursing, but mama is concerned you may have a little reflux going on so we will ask the doctor about it at your next appointment. I did discover that you seem to have trouble going to the bathroom if I eat diary, particularly ice cream so I've cut out my nightly snack and you haven't had trouble since! You eat every two hours and like to cluster feed in the evenings.

In your first two weeks, we had a lot of visitors and you were held constantly so it seemed you slept constantly! Since we've been on our own, you are still doing pretty well in the sleeping department! You either nap in mama's arms, in your Solly wrap (best purchase ever!), or in your rock and play. The other night you slept in your rock and play for 3 hours straight! You snuggle with mama and daddy in our bed when you need to eat at night.During your first month, you've been out and about quite a bit. You went to church for the first time when you were one week old. You've been to the pediatrician's office, to the grocery store (and napped in your Solly wrap the entire time!), to the mall and out on visitation with Daddy!

Your big sister is your biggest fan and loves you so much! She's always talking to you and saying, "Hi Me-um! Hi Boy!"' over and over! She likes to tickle your feet and touch your nose. It still amazes her when you have your eyes open! I'm so excited to see your relationship with her grow!

We are so proud of how strong you are in spite of your size! You have great head control and when we are holding you, you love to lift your head and look around. You have really big hands and feet so everyone predicts that you will grow up to be big and tall! You are already rolling around more than Londyn Grace ever did. He prefer your side over your back and always roll to your side when we lay you down.

You are a pretty content baby and don't fuss much at all unless you're getting your diaper changed or being put in your carseat. While you don't cry much, you do make some pretty grumpy looking faces sometimes so Daddy has nicknamed you his Grouchy Old Man! :) Mama calls you her Bubba.

It's been such a wonderful month with you and we're looking forward to watching you grow and change in month two!

Thursday, September 4, 2014

How is that even possible? She is 30 days from turning TWO!! Wow! I didn't think it could happen but this year has passed much quicker than her first year did!Anywho...At 23 months, our sweet girl weighs in right at 24 pounds and measures 33 inches tall.

Londyn Grace is wearing mostly 18 month dresses, but they are getting a little tight and short so we are buying 24 months for fall and winter. It's crazy that she can still wear 12 month onesies!

This month has definitely been the most challenging for me since her newborn days as we've added another newborn to our mix, but overall she has done a wonderful job adjusting to her new role as big sister.

She absolutely adores her baby brother and hasn't shown an ounce of jealousy towards him at all. You can find her giving him lots of kisses and she loves to "teetle" (tickle) his toes! In the last week she is constantly asking to "hold!" him. If she hears him fussing, she immediately rushes to his aid! She tells everyone she sees or talks to about him! I am so thankful for how well she has taken to her "Miam."

We have experienced some struggles with her behavior which I think is a combination of all the changes to life as it has always been for her and the fact that she is approaching two! She is learning what it means to be patient and how to obey the first time she's asked to do/not to do something.

Her 22nd month also marked her last day of nursing. I'll always remember the night I nursed her to sleep for the final time. We spent a 22 months and 5 days nursing, a number I never imagined possible as we struggled through the early days. I am so grateful for the precious moments we shared. The first few days without it were hard on both of us, but she hasn't asked for it in three weeks.

This month brought a new found obsession with books. She could sit for hours "reading" to herself or being read to. Some of her favorites are vintage Little Golden Books. Instead of nursing to sleep, we now read bedtime stories while rocking. Then I sing the song I've sang to her every night since she was tiny which she now knows the words to and sings along with me! Jesus Loves Me, BINGO and Itsy Bitsy Spider are her current favorite songs to sing throughout the day! She still plays with her megablocks and her kitchen often. She makes me tea and pie! She likes to paint and color and have Mama draw "face" (smiley faces) and "octopus!"

Goosey can identify all letters except for G, V and U. She knows all of her colors (green, blue, purple, yellow, pink, brown, white, orange) except for red and black. Yellow is currently her favorite since we've had construction work going on for the last few weeks in the lot adjacent to our backyard. Pop Pop started taking her to see the yellow tractors while he was here for Liam's birth and it's been the highlight of her day ever since! If they aren't working, she tells us they are asleep and we have to be quiet so we don't wake them! :) Her vocabulary and comprehension continue to flourish with her most frequently asked question being, "What's this?!" Her memory of the smallest details amazes us!

Breakfast is still her best meal and she is still pretty picky about everything else. We are working to get her to try new things.

I'm so far behind with party plans, but we've had the date set for months and finally decided on a theme! I'm excited to watch her experience her birthday this year since she's loved all things birthday related since Daniel's birthday back in July.

So here's to party preparations and savoring our last month with a one year old!

About Us

After two and half years of dating we said "I do" on December 17, 2011. We had a fairy tale wedding and were thrilled to begin our happily ever after! Just a month after our wedding, we found out we were expecting and on October 3, 2012 welcomed our sweet baby girl, Londyn Grace to our family! Here you can peek into our life and ministry and watch LG grow! We count it a privilege and honor to serve our Savior, and pray that He is glorified in all we say and do!